Pietersen to get full contract

Kevin Pietersen is set to be rewarded with a full contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after having impressed the Team Director, Andy Flower with his performances on the field and his behaviour and conduct in the dressing room.

Andy Flower was particularly impressed by the flamboyant batsman's contribution, both on and off the field, in the team's historic Test series win in India. He is expected to be duly rewarded at the end of the current tour of India, which culminates with the ODI series in January.

Pietersen was on a four month trial and had received a temporary contract for the same duration since making his comeback to the England team after being involved in a bitter controversy with Andy Flower and the ECB over sending derogatory text messages about his team-mates to a few South African players.

Flower confirmed that the contract would now be extended and the controversy was behind them. "We did move on from it as soon as we had our meetings and everyone made a commitment to do so. I want to continue that. We want to learn from the past but we don't want to keep on revisiting it," he said.

"The contract won't be a problem, Kevin has been excellent in every way," quoted Flower.

"We don't always get on with people all the time, in any walk of life, and everyone has made an effort to make it work. It's been really good fun and he should be very proud of the way he's operated out here, both as an individual and as a player," added Flower.

Pietersen's 186 in the 2nd Test in Mumbai, which took the match away from India, is being recognized as one of the best Test innings in recent cricket history. The knock led the England fightback and completely changed their fortunes after losing the first Test at Ahmedabad by a big margin.

"In the Mumbai Test, he showed real skill in Indian conditions on a pitch that turned on the first day," Flower quoted to the Daily Telegraph.

"For him to score as quickly as he did there and put such pressure on the opposition bowlers really helped us turn the series around. He also scored a 73 and a 54 in the series, important innings, and he's been excellent in the field and in the dressing room," he added.